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What are people charging to build a WP website?

by smitty7534
22 replies
Hello everyone,

I'm guessing this might depend on the city you live in I'm not sure. (I live in a fairly large town, Boise, ID) But I've had quite a few people approach me now and want me to build them a website, mainly just a WP website. so far they have all been for IBOs (like a scentsy rep, as an example) or small business, that don't have a site or already have a site that hasn't been updated since about 1997.

I have no clue where to even begin as far as what would be a fair price to charge them.

Do I tell them to (& where) to purchase hosting first if they don't have it?

Do I just use my hosting account & charge them based off that?
(I would think that would be easier that way they are all in one place and I can get in to change them without logging into a bunch of hosting sites.)

I just recently took a friends wedding photography website that a graphic designer built for her (with NO SEO whatsoever) and she was stuck on about page 15 of Google last year with just a handful of weddings. I updated her site, did just a little bit of SEO and landed her smack dab almost at the top of page 1 of Google in about 2 weeks time. Now she already has 16 weddings book for the year & it's only 2 months into the year, and she is ecstatic.

& now I'm getting more people asking me to build websites, & some that asked me last year & I just haven't had time until now. But I just don't know where to even start, or what charge...

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated

Thanks
#build #charging #people #website
  • Profile picture of the author johnben1444
    $99 to $599 depending on the company and individuals specifications. Don't be surprise if it even cost more.
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  • Profile picture of the author sts2k
    There is absolutely no set number. You can do as cheap as few hundred bucks to as high as few thousand. It all depends on the customer's price range. However, usually, someone that is willing to pay higher will tend to hassle you less about the site.

    You can offer many packages to the customer. We tend to generally leave the hosting upto the client, or we could host it for them. Hosting is so dirt cheap that it is almost negligible. Usually, free hosting is an additional incentive for a client to go with you. You can purchase the domains, hosting, etc. and manage it on their behalf if they are not tech savvy.

    I hope this helps and please feel free to ask any questions.
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  • Profile picture of the author freemen14
    As stated above it totally depends on what you ar doing. I would target the 299.00-399.00 range and limit your services. I'm trying to figure this all out myself so will follow the link.
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  • Profile picture of the author slcroft
    It does all depend upon the complexity, anything upwards to $1000 or greater. With regards to hosting, why not get a reseller account from hostgator or somewhere ($20 - $80 depending upon bandwith and disc space) and charge them either a monthly fee or annual fee for hosting, then you have got recurring income as well.

    Just have look round some web design websites to give yourself a feel, (even look at the warriors for hire section of this forum) you obviously have a talent for seo, so that doesn't seem a problem.

    Good luck with your venture.

    Simon
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  • Profile picture of the author smitty7534
    WoW that's quite the range... $99 - $2999 +

    Gives me some things to think about then.
    Thanks much.

    Here's one example I've already done but I wouldn't know what to charge?
    I just took a basic site (A site for a local bar)

    www franksoanda com

    & made it into a nice simple WP site

    worldfamousoutlawsandangels com

    The only thing I don't like about it is I had a hard time finding a decent photo gallery viewer. & a way to mass shrink the 2-4MB pictures file down before I upload them.
    Let me rephrase, I like the photo gallery viewer, it's not bad, its just the files I've uploaded are to large in size.
    Because viewing 4MB files slows the site to a crawl. I know how to shrink the files with Photoshop, but I want to do them all at once & not one at a time.
    I have Adobe CS5 so I would think there's something in there that I could use to mass shrink all my photo files, but I don't know.

    Thanks again, you've all been a great help
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    • Profile picture of the author sts2k
      To mass shrink images, use Windows Image Resizer.
      imageresizer dot codeplex dot com

      If you want constructive criticism, the sites you posted are very, very basic looking but you can get away charging $300-$400 for that to most local businesses. However, its not a bad start

      For the
      Originally Posted by smitty7534 View Post

      WoW that's quite the range... $99 - $2999 +

      Gives me some things to think about then.
      Thanks much.

      Here's one example I've already done but I wouldn't know what to charge?
      I just took a basic site (A site for a local bar)

      www franksoanda com

      & made it into a nice simple WP site

      worldfamousoutlawsandangels com

      The only thing I don't like about it is I had a hard time finding a decent photo gallery viewer. & a way to mass shrink the 2-4MB pictures file down before I upload them.
      Let me rephrase, I like the photo gallery viewer, it's not bad, its just the files I've uploaded are to large in size.
      Because viewing 4MB files slows the site to a crawl. I know how to shrink the files with Photoshop, but I want to do them all at once & not one at a time.
      I have Adobe CS5 so I would think there's something in there that I could use to mass shrink all my photo files, but I don't know.

      Thanks again, you've all been a great help
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      PM me if you are interested in working with a skilled development team.

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      • Profile picture of the author smitty7534
        Originally Posted by sts2k View Post

        To mass shrink images, use Windows Image Resizer.
        imageresizer dot codeplex dot com

        If you want constructive criticism, the sites you posted are very, very basic looking but you can get away charging $300-$400 for that to most local businesses. However, its not a bad start

        For the
        Thanks on the info for the shrinker, I'll try it out.

        Constructive criticism, YES..

        I didn't have anything to go off of for that bar site just yet, (its not like he said make this, or make it look like that)
        So I just looked over his old site (franksoanda) & I just made a basic WP site to look somewhat similar to his and just went off the info he had from his other site. So yes the one I created was pretty basic too, but it looks 1000X better than his old one.
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    • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
      Banned
      Originally Posted by smitty7534 View Post

      & made it into a nice simple WP site

      worldfamousoutlawsandangels com
      That's a pretty basic Wordpress site, so I wouldn't charge in the high range for that.

      Here's an example of a very nicely designed Wordpress Bar and Grill site that would be considered high end design and function.

      Rockit Bar & Grill - Chicago
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  • Profile picture of the author Lori Kelly
    As has been said here, the pricing varies.

    The site you referenced is very basic. Can I ask why you are using Google ads?

    Maybe you can start with something like this:

    $274 for basic 3 page website
    $397 for 6 page website
    $597 for 10 page website

    In this case, I want people to select the 6 page site. So when I meet with them, I take a red pen and mark through the $397 and write in "$299."

    You can try this pricing strategy. It works for me.

    I wish you the best success!
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    • Profile picture of the author smitty7534
      Originally Posted by Lori Kelly View Post

      As has been said here, the pricing varies.

      The site you referenced is very basic. Can I ask why you are using Google ads?

      Maybe you can start with something like this:

      $274 for basic 3 page website
      $397 for 6 page website
      $597 for 10 page website

      In this case, I want people to select the 6 page site. So when I meet with them, I take a red pen and mark through the $397 and write in "$299."

      You can try this pricing strategy. It works for me.

      I wish you the best success!
      As far as the google ads...
      Honestly I've been waiting to hear back from this guy for quite a few months now & I've noticed the site is now getting a decent amount of traffic already on its own, so I figured while I'm waiting for him I'll just put some ads on there and maybe get a few clicks, then whenever he's finally ready for the site I'll get to finish the site and just remove the ads.

      Sounds very good for pricing, I will start with that, it sounds very good to me, thanks much.
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  • Profile picture of the author Cassidy
    You can install wordpress in 10 minutes.

    If all they want is a website, charge like $120 a year (first year upfront) and set up a site on your hosting for free. Use hostgator baby at $285 for 3 years your cost or $96 for 1 year. The second and third ones will start delivering good profit. Include the registration and if they don't pay in advance keep the registration in your name until you get $$

    Then get like $20-$75 an hour for modifications.
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    Cassidy

    One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.

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    • Profile picture of the author smitty7534
      Originally Posted by Cassidy View Post

      You can install wordpress in 10 minutes.

      If all they want is a website, charge like $120 a year (first year upfront) and set up a site on your hosting for free. Use hostgator baby at $285 for 3 years your cost or $96 for 1 year. The second and third ones will start delivering good profit. Include the registration and if they don't pay in advance keep the registration in your name until you get $$

      Then get like $20-$75 an hour for modifications.

      I already have my own sites & hosting company I'm using for mine, so that sounds like a very good idea, just host them on mine and charge from there.
      cool thanks much
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  • Profile picture of the author MemberWing
    $250 (my son under my guidance)
    $2500 - myself.

    Gleb
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  • Profile picture of the author WilliamBlah
    Take a look at the sort of marketing spend already being made by the company or individual. If they spend heavily on flyering/canvassing or on other forms of marketing, then they will likely to be willing to spend a larger figure or a higher ongoing cost.

    If, however, you are dealing with someone with minimal marketing spend, they will likely warm more to a low monthly figure, or a medium to low one-off price.

    In either case I would offer to tie up the hosting and domain and all extras yourself. It's of low cost and effort to you, and may even take longer explaining to your client than it would for you to do it yourself!

    Regards
    Will
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  • Profile picture of the author neilward
    I would say looking at the site you designed you probably want to go in rock bottom and pick up a few contacts for people who aren't expecting to much from your sites. When you have learned how to do something like sbucciarel has posted then think about charging more. The best way to learn is on the job! Also Cassidy has made some valid points that the money doesn't stop rolling in once the design is complete if you include hosting and amendments. I started of making sites for £99 and still regularly get paid small amendments for £25 and £140pa for hosting.
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  • Profile picture of the author sunray
    If you want to hire a designer, why on earth would you want him to make it on WordPress? There are rumors going around that Google is gradually red-flagging WordPress sites to get rid of countless spammer sites, all made in WordPress. You don't want to be on the boat when it sinks, do you?
    A professional designer makes your site as well in plain HTML, for Joomla and Drupal--use these options instead!
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  • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
    Do I just use my hosting account & charge them based off that?
    (I would think that would be easier that way they are all in one place and I can get in to change them without logging into a bunch of hosting sites.)
    No responsible web developer/webmaster should do that ever!

    What if you die tomorrow? How can the clients access their sites?
    The domain should be registered in their name and they should have their own hosting account in their name.
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    • Profile picture of the author smitty7534
      Originally Posted by Istvan Horvath View Post

      No responsible web developer/webmaster should do that ever!

      What if you die tomorrow? How can the clients access their sites?
      The domain should be registered in their name and they should have their own hosting account in their name.
      VERY good point, thanks

      That actually never crossed my mind.
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  • Profile picture of the author atrbiz
    I charge offline clients for a custom WP site around $1000-$3500 and I've never had an issue with my pricing. We offer high end designs, clean coding, and great U.S. based support.

    I only take on a certain number of projects each month...this way I can give clients 110% 1 on 1 support vs juggling between low balling clients who expect a custom business site for $199 and you end up burning yourself out for pennies...ehhh...my point is please don't undersell yourself

    Best of luck,
    Ahmad
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  • Profile picture of the author rondo
    If you are going to host them yourself make sure you get a reseller hosting account.

    There's a biz that advertises on the radio here - they charge $2500 plus tax for a 5 page site! They keep on advertising so they must be making sales.


    Andrew
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